Mono is an open source implementation of the Microsoft .NET platform. More properly, it's an implementation of the ECMA 335 Common Language Infrastructure standard, along with work-alike implementations of various parts of Microsoft's .NET libraries....Mono is a thriving project, which continues to be significant in both the open source and the commercial .NET development worlds. From the start, its proximity to Microsoft's technology and intellectual property has caused controversy, and this has not receded to date. As a framework for pure Linux development, Mono has not achieved its initial promise, as it has been dogged by concerns over its legal vulnerabilities and lack of vision to become a Linux platform. In the second component of its mission, to bring Windows closer to Linux, Mono has blossomed, and in doing so has also brought Linux closer to Windows....Though areas of Mono are still incomplete with respect to fully implementing the contemporary .NET platform, there's a lot that works in production today and no reason to doubt the Mono project team's determination in reaching near-complete .NET compatibility.